10 min read
Performing a cookie audit is one of the first steps toward privacy regulation compliance. It helps identify the cookies on your website, understand what they’re used for, and ensure transparency.
Overlooking cookie audits and compliance result in large fines, ranging from hundreds to millions of dollars. In 2024 alone, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) data privacy enforcement across Europe resulted in €1.2 billion in fines, according to a survey by DLA Piper.
Cookie audits can be done manually or automatically with a comprehensive cookie scanner tool. For example, TinyCookie can generate a detailed cookie audit with all cookies categorized for Shopify store owners in a matter of minutes.
In this guide, we’ll teach you how to perform a cookie audit and why it’s important for your business.
Free plan availableCustomizable cookie bannerWhat is a cookie audit?
A cookie audit is a process used by website owners to examine the effectiveness and legal compliance of the cookies on their site. It provides an understanding of how cookies are used, what data they collect, for how long, and more.
Conducting a cookie audit can help assess whether cookies and consent management practices align with privacy regulation requirements. This includes the GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
A cookie audit can also reveal how cookies affect the user experience. This involves helping you identify what cookies are unnecessary, intrusive, or unauthorized.
Since websites get updated or modified by third parties, regular cookie audits are a must. You can perform it in two ways – manually through your browser and documentation or automatically with a cookie scanner tool.
How to perform a cookie audit: 5 steps
Performing a cookie audit and ensuring compliance isn’t difficult if you know the right steps to follow. Here are the main tasks you should do to conduct a cookie audit for your website:
1. Identify all cookies on your website
When auditing cookies, you need to start by identifying them on your website. You can do this manually on your browser or using a cookie scanner like TinyCookie.
If you want to do it manually, open your browser, right-click anywhere on the page, and press Inspect. Then, go to Application > Cookies and select the domain. Here’s a visual example of how the process looks like on Google Chrome DevTools:
Here, you’ll find a list of cookies that are present on your website. Please note that it’s best to check this using Incognito mode and without third-party cookie blocking enabled. If you want to see the exact steps for other browsers, read our guide on how to check your website cookies.
A more convenient way is to check website cookies using a cookie scanner. You can use a free online cookie scanner. Alternatively, if you’re a Shopify user, you can ensure hassle-free cookie auditing and management with TinyCookie.
You can use cookie scanners to edit your cookies, including changing their provider or category. If needed, you can even add new ones with a click of a button.
2. Understand the cookie types
Finding the cookies that your website uses is one thing, but you won’t know what to do with the information if you don’t understand cookie types and their purpose.
A website browser will tell you which cookies are “session” and which are persistent (they have an expiry date). However, you won’t know the exact cookie types based on other categories without researching them or using a cookie scanner.
Here are some of the main cookie types that you should know about:
- First vs third-party cookies: first-party cookies are placed by the website you’re visiting and usually track you on the same domain. Meanwhile, third-party cookies are stored by third parties, such as analytics services, and track your behavior across sites.
- Session vs persistent cookies: session cookies expire after the session ends and are used for remembering user login credentials and the shopping cart. Persistent cookies usually have a set expiry date and are used to remember user preferences across multiple visits.
- Essential cookies vs non-essential cookies: Essential cookies, such as session or authentication cookies, are necessary for the website to operate properly. Non-essential cookies, including analytics or advertising cookies, are used to improve the website and targeted advertising strategies.
If you want to learn more about cookie categories and their purpose, read our types of Internet cookies guide.
3. Follow compliance requirements
Once you audit your cookies, you need to ensure your website is compliant with privacy and cookie regulations. Which ones you have to comply with depends on your audience.
For example, if you’re processing data of EU citizens, then follow the ePrivacy Directive and the GDPR. For California user data handling, you must comply with the CCPA.
If you don’t ensure compliance with privacy laws, you can get major fines or penalties. GDPR fines can go up to €20 million, or 4% of the firm’s global annual revenue (whichever is higher), while CCPA fines can reach up to $750 per violation.
So, here are the main compliance requirements to follow:
- Inform users about the use of cookies on your website with a cookie banner
- Obtain user consent for non-essential cookies
- Include a consent withdrawal method in the cookie banner
- Allow users to manage cookie preferences
- Track and record user consent securely in one place
Free plan availableOne-click cookie banner4. Create a cookie policy
A cookie policy is a detailed legal document that lists all the cookies used on a website and information about them. You can add a cookie policy on a separate page or place it as a section in your privacy policy.
What matters is that your cookie policy is clear and simple for any user to understand, so they know what exactly they’re agreeing to. For example, as the GDPR Article 12 states, information should be provided “in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language.”
An easily accessible cookie policy can be adding a link to it on the cookie banner or on the footer of your website. Here’s an example of how it could look like:
If you’re trying to become compliant with the GDPR, you can check the official GDPR privacy policy template that involves a cookie section. You can reuse this policy on your own website, just make sure that the provided information is applicable to your company.
Alternatively, you can use the Shopify privacy policy generator completely free. It will let you mark that you’re using cookies on your site and generate a policy based on your company information.
5. Create a cookie management strategy
Performing a cookie audit is not a one-time task. Cookies on your website can change, so keeping track of them can help ensure you remain compliant.
So, here are some of the main tips you should keep in mind when creating a cookie management strategy:
- Conduct cookie audits regularly – scan your website’s cookies regularly and ensure you document and classify cookies each time.
- Create a data breach response plan – assess and document the risks in your organization, share responsibilities in case of a data breach in your team, provide regular training, and adopt data breach security and detection methods.
- Ensure cookie policy compliance – regularly review your cookie policy to ensure it stays up to date and compliant with data protection laws.
- Honor user rights – honor user cookie preferences and consent withdrawal. This can be automatically done if you use a reliable consent management platform (CMP). For example, TinyCookie automatically blocks third-party cookies from loading when the user doesn’t consent to their usage.
Why is a cookie audit important?
A cookie audit is a crucial process for ensuring not just compliance but user trust. Here are the main reasons why you should regularly perform a cookie audit:
- Privacy regulation compliance. Many privacy laws, like the GDPR, CCPA, or ePrivacy Directive, require websites to disclose the cookies they’re using. Knowing what cookies your site uses helps you write a clear cookie policy and implement a compliant consent management system.
- Transparency and user trust. Users want to know how their data is being used, and a cookie audit helps ensure clear communication. According to research by Statista, 39% of consumers believe that providing clear information about data usage can help companies build trust.
- Prevention of fines. Since a cookie audit helps ensure compliance, overlooking its importance can come at a cost. It can range from thousands to millions of dollars for a single case of non-compliance.
Frequently asked questions
Although there are no federal laws that regulate cookie usage in the US, there are some state laws for cookie consent. They include:
- California – California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)
- Virginia – Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA)
- Colorado – Colorado Privacy Act (CPA)
- Connecticut – Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA)
- Utah – Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA)
Cookie testing is the process of examining if cookies function as expected without causing issues. It checks how cookies behave and perform in different settings, like during user browsing sessions or logins.
A cookie audit tool is used to scan a website and identify what cookies it uses. It analyzes the cookie categories, purposes, and other data, and generates a detailed report. A cookie audit helps website owners understand how cookies are used on their website and what data they collect, helping ensure compliance with privacy regulations like the GDPR or CCPA.
